Improvement in rattan machinery



Inventor da., f

AM. PHDTBLITHO. CQ. NY. (OSHORNE'S PROCESS) To all whom it may concern,.-

enviara STATEs PATENT trionfo" CHARLES lV. TROV, OF SOUTH READING, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO GYRUS VAKEFIELD, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN RATTAN MACHINERY.

Specification forming part oi Leiters Patent No. 35,859,l (lated July S, 1362.'

do hereby declare that the following is a fnll,`

clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making part of this specification, and inl which- Figure l is a side, Fig. 2 a sectionah'and Fig. 3 a plan, view of myimproved machine. Figs. 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 are details ofsome of the parts, drawn to a larger scale to show more clearly their construction.

The letters of reference indicate like parts in all the figures. A

The subject-matter of this (my invention) is a machine in which all the operations requisite to prepare the strands of rattan or cane for chair-seating or other purposes shall be effected suc'cessivelyhfthat is to say, the object of my invention is to perform the operations of removing the knots or eXcrescences upon the rattan,the splitting or dividing of its surface into separate parts or strands, of dressing and finishing the saidn strands to the proper form, and of removing them from the core, all successively and continuously in one machine, so that the rattan entering at one end shall issue at the other into strands perfectly dressed and finished and adapted to be used in seating chairs and for other purposes, together with a core which may be used for coops or for the manufacture of baskets, or for other similar purposes.

My improvements relate to thatkind of machinery in which the surface of the rattan is first divided into longitudinal sections by cutting the stick or cane to a requisite depth and by then separating said sections from the core `to form strands; and my invention consists,

first, in the employment, in combination with feeding-rollers, of a series of selfadjusting scraping-knives operating, as hereinafter dell scribed, to close against the surface of the rattan,whatever its diameter may be,and yield to all inequalities other than the knots or exy crescences; second, in the use,in combination with a suitable feeding mechanisimof a series other material, of a circular or of such other convenient form as to receive the scrapingk nives and the parts with which it is combined to effect their self-adjustment, as hereinafter described. The whole is mounted on a horizontal sleeve, E, by which it is secured to the frame in suitable journals, G. AThe knives C are curved, as shown in Fig. 2, and are held in their stocksD by means of set screws f, passing through bridles t'. The number of knives may vary according to circumstances. In the accompanying drawings I have shown four, and they are disposed radially upon the disk B, and hung or pivoted by means of pins k, in slots cut in their side supports, H. This mode of hanging of the blocks,in combination with the springs h, bearing upon their tops, enables them to converge or diverge according to the size or diameter of the cane. Behind each block there is another spring, g, the office of which is to throw forward the inner ends of the blocks, and thus hold the knives expanded (see Fig. 5) until closed by coming. in contact with the rattan moving in the directions of the arrowsx y z.

The scrapingknives are otherwise of ordinary construction and operate substantially in the manner as those heretofore in use. The rattan is fed to the scraper by passing through the sleeve Lbetween the pair of feed-rollers R, to which equal rotary movement is imparted by means of an endless screw and spur-wheel arrangement, or by some other means of transmitting motion. rIhe rattan thus fed to the scraper is carried through and from it by be' ing seized bythe feed-rollers It', which latter carry it forward to the rolls r, that securely guide it to the marking, splitting, and dressing knives F, of which I will now proceed to give a particular description: They are made in the forni shown in perspective in Fig. 6 and -in front and side elevation in Figs. 7 and 8, re-

spectively. There are three cutting-edgestwo, c and w, in front and one, t, underneaththe two former forming an angle the apex of which coincides with the latter. lIhe angle between the two front edges varies in accordance with the number of strands to be eut on each rattan, and they are arranged in such relative order'as that each front edge of any cutter shall be parallel with the front edge of the next following on either side, and so that each strip or strand shall have its side dressed by parallel cutters. To illustrate, I will suppose th at the surface of the rattan is to bedivided into four strands. The cutters used in accordance with my invention would be angular V or plow cutters, the front cutting-edges of which form an angle of ninety degrees, the said cutters being arranged at equal distances from each other and concentrieally in"relation to a common circle.

In Figs. 1, 2, and 3 I have shown. the cutters arranged upona cone, K, which is set on a horizontal sleeve, L, th rough which the marked or scored rattan is fed by means of the feedrollers R" to a tubular cutter, M, which is of such diameter as to core the stick, leaving strands of requisite thickness that are stripped and carried off along` the inclined plane N, while the core issues at the end of the cutter at O.

From the above description of the construetion and arrangement of the parts and their combination as a Whole, it is obvious that the same is susceptible of many modifications without departing from the principle of my invention. Thus the V or plow critters, instead of being arranged in front of the tubular cutter,

may be placed around or form part of it.

Having thus fully described my invention andthe manner in which the same is ,or may be carried into effect, I shall state my claims as follows:

1. The employment, in combination with feeding-rollers, of a series of self-adjusting scraping-knives constructed, arranged, and operating, as herein described,to close against the surface of the rattan, Whatever its diameter may be, and yield to all inequalities other than the knots or ,excrescences as set forth.y

2. The angular marking and dressing knives, in combination with the feeding mechanism ot' rattan machinery, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with thel knives provided with th'e dressing cutting-edges, of a tubular coring-cutter, arranged substantially in the manner and for the purposes set forth.

4. The combination and arrangement ofthe apparatus herein described, perforn'ling the several operations of dressing, splitting, coring, and finishing the rattansuccessivcly and continuously inone machine,in the manner as herein' set forth.

C. XV. TROVV.

Witnesses:

J osnrrr GAVETT, A. W. BROWN 

